After a quick breakfast in Chennai we continued South – following the coast line – for another about two hours – until we made it to Maamallapuram in the late morning. Everyone in the group was exhausted after the long drive and the journey on the night train – so the hotel pool was more than welcome.

After a light lunch we headed of for a bike ride around the local attractions – with the first stop at the Five Rathas.

The Five Rathas (ratha is Sanskrit for chariot) are five temples, each hewn out of a single long stone (or monolith), dating back to the 7th century.The structures were never completed and as such became actual temples.

After a tour around the Five Rathas we headed back into town for the monuments and temples around Maamallapuram Hill. the highlight here clearly was Arjuna’s Penance, a massive relief carving depicting scenes from Hindu myth to scenes from South Indian life. We also visited the Mandapas or cave temples in the vicinity, which – again – were hewn into solid rock.
A short walk brought us over into the actual hill park for further temples and Krishna’s butterball – a huge, immovable boulder sitting on the slope of a rock face.

We made it back to the bikes and cycled towards the coast for the Shore Temple. After our visit here, some of us ended up in a rooftop bar / restaurant for some well deserved beers.